Puffins of Tory Island.

Tory Island is a remote, inhabited, island lying some 11 km off the north-west Donegal coast. It is

approximately 4 km in length and 1 km in width. The inhabited island is a Special Protection Area (SPA) under the E.U. Birds Directive, of special conservation interest for the following species: Fulmar, Corncrake, Razorbill and Puffin.

Beautiful lighthouse on Tory

Tory Island is of particular conservation importance as it supports a nationally important population of Corncrake (Crex crex), which has increased in recent years and now represent over 16% of the all-Ireland total. This is down to the conservation work of NPWS, BWI and importantly, the locals that live on the island. Their decline is mostly due to intensive farming practices, therefore, Corncrake are confined to areas where difficult terrain precludes the use of machinery. Tory fits this criteria and with the addition of an abundance of nettles on the island, which is a preferred habitat type for Corncrake. With several trips to Tory Island, I have only seen one so I do apologise there are no Corncrake photos featured in the post. You could be a few meters from a calling individual and not see it as they are incredibly difficult to spot, hidden away in a thick dense patch of nettles. If you ever visit Tory Island, you may come across Paul B and I standing in front of a patch of nettles, with our heads down, looking through our binoculars, trying our hardest to get a glimpse of one. Remember, as infuriating as it is not to see one even tough its right in front of you, you must never try to flush the bird out of the nettles, which unfortunately on one occasion we witnessed some tourists doing.

Sea Cliffs of Tory Island. We actually saw a few Minke Whales and Basking Sharks from up there.

Right, well that is enough about Corncrake! The reason Paul and I went to Tory was to survey Puffins. Tory Island is really the one main site to find breeders in Donegal and Sligo. From Ireland's burrow nesting seabirds (Storm petrel, Manx Shearwater and Atlantic Puffin), Puffins are easier to survey as they stand outside their burrows during the day, compared to Stormies and Manxies who only return to their burrows at night. And YES, Puffins nest in burrows! People are usually surprised when they find this out. Puffins can be easily spotted, especially compared to Corncrake :-), if you know where to look. They prefer to nest at the cliffs edge, for quick access to the sea, with vegetation comprised of Sea pink and Sea campion, as this habitat type usually has soft earth that allows them to burrow into.

Atlantic puffin (Fratercula arctica). The bottom three photos are actually my photos of Puffins from Great Saltee Island, off Wexford but the first one is from Tory, giving a good example of their burrows surrounded by Sea campion

There is a passenger ferry that bring people to and from the Island three times a day. Paul and I camped on Tory Island and performed our surveys early in the morning, as they are more inclined to be standing outside their burrow during that time of day. We did several trips to Tory and recorded the peak number of birds seen on land early in the season, in the pre-laying period, around late April. The puffins are located on the East side of the Island where there can be spotted at four different sites. Tory really is a beautiful Island with such a variety of birds. I would highly recommend a visit.

Some photos below showing a few birds we encountered on our first trip. Thanks for reading,

Paul W